Monday, April 6, 2009

12:41 PM

The races for state Supreme Court and superintendent of Public Instruction are at the top of tomorrow's ballot. But a number of local races could drive local turnout and have an impact on the outcome of those state campaigns.

Here's a quick look at some of the races on the ballot that could drive turnout.

**Local races**

-- Dane County executive: Kathleen Falk, who has served as county executive since 1997, has been easily re-elected twice to the post, in between runs for governor and attorney general. But in the aftermath of several high-profile problems involving the county's 911 center, backers of conservative challenger Nancy Mistele believe they have an issue to score an upset Tuesday.

-- La Crosse: Mayor Mark Johnsrud was crushed in the primary, finishing fifth out of seven candidates on the ballot. Voters will now choose between newcomer Matt Harter, age 24, and Common Council member Dorothy Lenard.

-- Manitowoc: The city has an open mayoral seat, with incumbent Kevin Crawford not returning to the office. The general election pits two members of the city's common council against each other: 22-year-old Justin Nickels, who scored a narrow primary victory and has been endorsed by Crawford, and Dave Soeldner.

-- Sheboygan: First-term incumbent mayor Juan Perez was dispatched in the primary following an unsuccessful recall attempt in 2006. The race now pits fourth-term Dem state Rep. Terry Van Akkeren -- who won the primary -- against Ald. Bob Ryan.

-- Racine: Voters in the Dem-heavy city face a wide-open 11-way primary to replace disgraced former Mayor Gary Becker, who resigned after facing charges stemming from an Internet sex sting. Candidates include, in part, state Rep. Bob Turner, former state Sen. Kim Plache, three city aldermen, a former alderman, and two former county supervisors.

-- Fond du Lac: Five candidates are running for three city council posts in Fond du Lac, with the city's new smoking ban at the forefront of the race. The results of the council elections could determine whether the ban, which passed the council by a single vote and went into effect Feb. 2, remains in place.

**Judicial races**

Court of Appeals Judges Kitty Brennan (District I) and Michael Hoover (District III) are up for re-election, and 74 circuit court seats will be on the ballot Tuesday. Of those, four are vacant and two -- in Green and Kenosha County -- are new seats.

Perhaps the most high-profile court race has been for Milwaukee County's vacant 15th branch, where county prosecutor Daniel Gabler and Fox Point Judge J.D. Watts have exchanged harsh attack ads on local media.

Gabler sparked the controversy in the primary with a mailer that criticized his opponents for protecting criminals. Watts fired back with a TV ad last week comparing Gabler to indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, failing CEOs, and athletes on steroids.

**School referendums**

Thirty school districts throughout the state will pose school spending issues to voters, worth a total of more than $256 million. With the economy in such rough shape, voters may be especially reluctant to part with additional tax revenue; all of the school spending referendums on the February ballot failed.

The largest spending measure will be held in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District outside of Madison, which has proposed three ballot initiatives totaling $71 million.

The West Bend School District in southeastern Wisconsin falls just shy of the lead, with school officials asking for $69 million in additional spending from voters in two referendums. That total is down from a 2007 referendum, when voters rejected $119 million in additional spending.